Doctors would probably never think that prescribing medication to patients could land them in jail. After all, if someone is in pain it is the duty of medical professionals to help them, right?
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Center for Disease Control (CDC), there is a fine line between performing your duty of care and over-prescribing – particularly in terms of opioids.
The DOJ and prosecutors nationwide are cracking down on doctors who prescribe too many narcotic substances to their patients, including OxyContin, Vicodin and other powerful opioid painkillers. They believe that by reducing the number of “pill mills” in operation, they can curb the rampant opioid addiction in the United States.
A recent example of this is Fathalla Mashali, a doctor with pain management clinics in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In a hearing before the U.S. District Court last week, Mashali plead guilty to over-prescribing narcotics to patients, specifically to 44 counts of health care fraud. Prosecutors are asking for sentencing to follow federal guidelines, calling for 12 1/2 to 15 1/2 years in prison. While this may be an extreme example, it is by no means an isolated incident.
In September of last year, the DOJ issued a letter to all 94 U.S. District Attorney offices, encouraging them to “work with public health officials” on the issue of over-prescribed narcotics. Additionally, on March 15 the CDC released new guidelines for prescriptions for narcotics for chronic pain in an effort to curtail over-prescribing.
As with any criminal offense, doctors accused of over-prescribing opioids are innocent until proven guilty. If you are facing charges, you have the right to obtain legal representation from and experience criminal defense attorney.